Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Will those who know the truth about the Ladipo demolition please tell us

Something happened at 5,000-merchant-strong Ladipo Market, Lagos, Nigeria's famed auto spare parts mall, a few weeks back. But exactly what is hard to tell from afar.

On July 1, newspapers reported that the local and state governments had, without warning, moved in to demolish the market. The following day, government officials denied that story, suggesting that they were working on a redevelopment plan to improve the streets in the market.

Two days after that, traders totaled their losses at 100 million naira - or around half a million US dollars. They argued that government thugs, working with the police, had looted their products. Some observers suggested that the state government was engaging in a political vendetta against market leaders who had supported a rival party. Others argued that this was a tribal clash.

About Me

I spent most of the past four years hanging out with street hawkers, smugglers, and sub-rosa import/export firms to write Stealth of Nations, a book that chronicles the global growth of System D--the parallel economic arena that today accounts for half the jobs on the planet.
Prior to that, I lived in squatter communities across four continents to write Shadow Cities, a book that attempts to humanize these vibrant, energetic, and horribly misunderstood communities.
My articles on cities, politics, and economic issues have appeared in many publications, including Harper's, Scientific American, Forbes, Fortune, The Nation, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Metropolis, and City Limits. Before becoming a reporter, I worked as a community organizer and studied philosophy. I live in New York City and do most of my writing on manual typewriters.